Meeting the environmental challenges of deepwater oil exploration
Global Well Response and
the Dalian Developer Our business approach About Global Well Response The Macondo oil spill in mid-2010 highlighted the risks of deepwater oil exploration and production as well as the oil & gas industrys inability to swiftly and adequately respond to an oil spill incident of such magnitude with the right set of tools and systems. Post Macondo, much effort has been spent by regulators and the oil & gas industry to ensure that the risk of another incident happening is reduced as well as ensuring that the industry is better prepared and equipped to handle a potential incident. Several well containment systems are being designed and built. The challenge is a global one and requires industry-wide cooperation. In response to this challenge, Technip has teamed up with Global Well Response Ltd, a company affiliated with the owner of the Dalian Developer drillship. The objective is to develop a vessel that combines both drilling and oil spill containment capabilities, using the Dalian Developer as the platform. Technip has performed the conceptual design of a topside production system capable of Extended Well Testing (EWT) of heavy crudes as well as acting as an oil capture system that can be integrated with Dalian Developers drilling and oil storage capabilities. When completed, the Dalian Developer will be the worlds largest drillship. Her unique payload, deck space and cargo storage capacity (1 million barrels), enables her to perform additional functions that are far beyond the capability of other conventional drillships. In addition to demanding drilling duties, the Dalian Developer is able to act as a stand-alone spill response vessel, capable of handling an oil spill significantly larger than Macondo. One of the challenges during Macondo was the mobilisation and then coordination of several vessels when operating in close proximity. The Dalian Developer drillship is able to rapidly mobilise and then perform all these functions in a single fast-transit vessel. As a fully functioning drillship, the Dalian Developer can be successfully deployed and fully utilised in normal drilling mode in virtually any deepwater drilling region worldwide. The Dalian Developer A unique drillship and oil spill response solution The Dalian Developer is more than double the size of a conventional drillship, at nearly 300 metres long and 50 metres wide. She has cargo tanks capable of storing up to 1,000,000 barrels of oil. She also has the deck space and deck load capacity to install an oil production plant for the processing of up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. She is a fully operational ultra-deepwater drillship with combined capabilities to act as an emergency response capture vessel in case of an uncontrolled well spill situation. The Dalian Developers oil containment equipment is primarily designed as an Extended Well Test (EWT) or early production system that has been debottlenecked to cater for the oil containment scenario. This also means that the incremental cost associated with the oil containment system can provide cost effective economic utilisation to an operator through Extended Well Testing and/or early production in addition to its drilling services utilisation. Extended Well Test (EWT) and early production 30,000 barrels/day oil, 30% water cut Heavy oil capable <20 API (17.2 API used as design case) All export specifications compliant (i.e. meets RVP = 12 psi, BS&W = 0.5% vol and salt content =10 ptb) Oil containment 100,000 barrels/day total fluids 100,000 barrels/day oil or 70,000 barrels/day oil + 30,000 barrels/day water (35 API used as design case) 200 mmscfd gas flaring All safety specifications compliant (i.e. meets RVP specifications but may not meet BS&W or salt) The Dalian Developers production system is therefore designed for the following two primary operating cases: The Dalian Developer will be compatible with existing subsea capture and containment systems and could potentially install the same. The philosophy adopted in providing the oil containment equipment is to first acknowledge that it may never be used and is potentially a sunk cost. The key challenge in designing an optimal spill capture vessel is finding a way to ensure it is an effective capture tool in emergency mode whilst also ensuring good economic utilisation during normal operating mode. The Dalian Developer is considered an economically superior solution which may facilitate widespread adoption and deployment of multiple units across the worlds main offshore drilling basins. It represents a very cost- effective way for oil companies to mitigate the risk of future oil spills. Ultra-deepwater, 6 th generation, DP3 drillship Oil spill emergency response & containment Capture, process and store well flow Drilling relief wells Emergency subsea intervention Mother-ship / command-centre Warehouse logistics offshore hub Lower dependence on supply chain Serve multiple vessels in remote offshore areas A unique concept: the Dalian Developer is the only mobile drilling unit in the world large enough to capture, process and store oil spills in excess of Macondos flow rate. Safe, simple and reliable: this single asset solution means reduced interface complexity (operations / logistics / communications / procedures / flow splitting issues) compared with the multi-asset system used for Macondo. Only tried and tested systems and technologies are used on the Dalian Developer. On board storage of bulk methanol and dispersant chemical simplifies logistics and avoids the need for subsea storage and injection packages. Rapid response time: limited time needed to disengage from active drilling and transit distance to spill site. The unit has a 12 knot transit speed. Suitable as emergency operations hub or command centre: thanks to her size and excess capacities (storage / accommodation / power). High weather resistance: the Dalian Developers hull size, motion characteristics and full DP3 system enable her to operate safely even under harsh weather conditions in virtually all major drilling basins worldwide. Double moonpool design: combined with size and stability makes her ideal for subsea intervention activities. Superior economics: as a fully functioning drillship with Early Well Testing / Early Production System capabilities, her earnings capabilities in normal mode should ensure an attractive return on total investment. The unit is under construction: it can therefore be ready for deployment much sooner than a newbuild unit. Unique versatility Extended Well Testing with more reliable reservoir data / history Early production achieving early cash flow Simultaneously drilling & production: Drilling appraisal wells while testing Drilling development wells while producing Intervention & Subsea installation works Drilling while carrying out well intervention Dual gradient drilling Underbalanced drilling Advantages provided by the Dalian Developer Design features: Double hull structure built to DNV ICE class C. Identical bow and stern sections for +/- 90 heading change. Motion characteristics equivalent to or better than 6 th generation semi in head seas. 2 moonpools (one for drilling, second for subsea work and production). Equipment / system modularized and elevated above tank top less integration. Accommodation upgradable to 240 men. Large available deck space (5000 m) for production systems, subsea equipment and spill containment equipment. (EWT, EPS, etc.). Large storage capacity 1m bbls - for production, chemical dispersants, etc. Dalian Developer - Main characteristics Basic design: INOCEAN Detailed design: COSCO Class: DNV DP3 LOA: 291.25 m Breadth: 50.00 m Depth: 27.00 m Drilling Draft: 13.00 m Displacement: 240,750 mt Water depth: 3,050 m Drilling depth: 10,670 m Transit speed: 12 knots Accommodation: 180 men Crude oil storage: 1,000,000 bbls Variable deck load: 32,000 mt General particulars: CONTACTS Global Well Response Ltd 77 Robinson Road #30-02 Singapore 068896 Jonny KLEPSVIK Phone: +65 9647 5662 E-mail: jonny.klepsvik@dvbbank.com Technip 89 avenue de la Grande Arme 75773 Paris Cedex 16 France Brian ROBERTS Phone: +33 (0) 1 47 78 25 37 Email: baroberts@technip.com March 2012 www.technip.com www.globalwellresponse.com Each deepwater basin in the world will require a contingency plan for oil spill response. The Dalian Developer offers an economically viable solution which will lead to the deployment of multiple units across the worlds main offshore deepwater basins. Global Well Response Global demand map Secondary Primary